European Premier League: Barcelona withdraws from the project

Barcelona’s withdrawal from the European Super League project had been expected for months.

It is just the latest step in the slow death of what has generally been accepted as a poorly planned, and disastrous, attempt to move away from the Champions League.

The closed store project will be completed once the six Premier League clubs withdraw in 2021.

With fan-controlled Bundesliga teams uninterested and PSG also disapproving, it was not financially viable.

Juventus had pulled out by the time A22 Sports, the company behind it, attempted to relaunch it at the end of 2024.

It was rebranded as the Unify League, which turned out to be another mistake.

The 96-team multi-level competition was based at least on athletic merit. But the first division was limited to only 16 clubs. He was unlikely to get the widespread support he needed from the major clubs.

Barcelona and Real Madrid reached out, turning to the courts to prove that UEFA had no grounds to ban the Premier League.

The La Liga duo have had some success, with UEFA forced to rewrite its licensing rules.

Real Madrid also said it had the right to “claim significant compensation”.

But it was a series of Pyrrhic victories.

Real Madrid may still be trying to keep fighting, but in fact the European Premier League stopped five years ago.